Articles
These
are the good ol' days.
Did you ever feel like
regardless of how hard you work you should be doing better? The other
day I was sitting in a restaurant having lunch by myself. As usual I was
in a hurry to get to my next destination. My mind was inventorying all
of the "important" things on my "to do" list. I was probably trying to
figure out how to improve my training business; how to attract new
clients; how to improve the results for my existing clients; how to
stretch my time to get more done. Just before I had time to get
totally self-absorbed with my affairs a messenger was sent to my table
to set me straight.
Part I,
Why sitting tires you out.
Have you ever come home from an 8-hour day of
sitting behind a desk feeling like you've just been hit by a dump
truck? It really doesn't make much sense does it? After all, you
didn't do anything today... except sit there typing on your keyboard
and mousing around. This article is
Part I of III where we will discuss muscular-skeletal loading
associated with sitting. In the first part we will investigate why
sitting is really against our genetic programming. In the Part II we
will discuss what you can do to mitigate the effects of too much
sitting. Finally, in Part III we will identify corrective measures
that are designed to offset the mal-effects of too much
sitting.
Part II, Why sitting tires you out.
What can you do to counter the effects
of too much sitting? Last month we discussed how the
human body was engineered to be moving. We also discussed
how postural problems related to too many hours in the
seated position can have adverse effects on your health such
as low back pain, rounded shoulders, forward head position,
respiratory problems, range of motion restrictions and butt
muscles that simply don't work. Learn how to tailor your exercise routines
to overcome the stresses that sitting all day long places on
your body.
Part III, Why
sitting tires you out.
If you MUST sit too long, fight back!
This is the third and final part of this series
of articles related to sitting for extended
periods of time. The first article explained key
points on WHY sitting for extended periods of
time can be contraindicative to your posture and
your health. The second article discussed
several exercise pointers to counter-balance
long hours behind a desk, wheel of a car, etc.
either BEFORE or AFTER your work day.
Learn what you can do
DURING your day to ward off the ill effects of
sitting too long.
Make Your
Fitness Resolutions Stick. Trying to get in shape for spring break or the
summer pool scene? How about the upcoming wedding or class reunion?
If you're not a regular exerciser already, but you've tried to be in
the past, chances are real good that you will not make it past
mid-February this year either... unless you take the steps necessary
to ensure the longevity of your workouts. Apply these 10
simple steps to ensure your success.
Best Buns in Charlotte.
Summer's practically here. Soon everyone
will be out and about strutting their stuff. Is
your stuff up to snuff? If not, than read on to
learn how to turn your back side into eye candy.
How do you turn a Donald Duck into a Pink Panther?
A “Donald Duck” represents those folks who
have either normal or excessive spinal
curvature in the lower or lumbar back.
A “Pink Panther” represents those folks who
have reduced spinal curvature in the lumbar
spine. I’ll refer to these folks as “flat
backers”.
Now let’s restate the original question. How
do you take a person with excessive or
normal lumbar curvature and turn them into a
“flat backer”.
Seven Tips for
Training the Abdominal Wall.
Training the abdominal wall involves more
than just doing crunches on the floor. In
fact, most people do more harm to themselves
than good through improper abdominal
training programs.
The No Diet, Diet.
What if there was a diet we could follow to
lose fat permanently, increase our energy
levels and optimize our health? What if
this same diet allowed us to eat as much as
we wanted until we felt full, made
calorie-counting obsolete, and even allowed
an occasional sweet? . Sounds too good to
be true? Fortunately, thanks to William
Wolcott and other pioneers of metabolic
typing "The No Diet, Diet" does exist.
The Glory of the Bench
Press. Go into any gym anywhere in the world and
you'll find men doing bench presses. It's
as if the bench press is the most important
measure of machismo. In actuality, it is
one of the most overrated and least
scrutinized exercises out there. Why is the
bench press so popular?
What precautions should we understand about
the bench press to better understand its
impact on our physiques?
Sleep Your Way to Good
Health.
Sleep disturbances may contribute to
chronic pain of muscle/joint nature, and/or
chronic headaches, and/or hormonal
disorders. What can you do to improve your
sleep habits to enjoy a healthier life?
Posture's Impact on Health. Improve your posture to take control of our
health, be responsible for your wellness and
feel great.
Train Smart. Be Real. Get Results.
You've made the commitment to yourself to
get in shape. Perhaps you have a short term
goal, such as an upcoming wedding or class
reunion. Or maybe you've just decided that
your present lifestyle is not conducive to
getting you through life in the ways you
want and deserve.
Once you've made a personal commitment to
jump on the fitness bandwagon the next most
important step is to determine WHERE DO YOU
START.
How can you get the results you
deserve?
Hydration and Your Health.
Adequate hydration is essential for optimal
function of the human body's many systems
and prevention of disease. The human body is
composed of about 75% water. The human
brain is approximately 85% water. What
quantity and quality of water do we need to
ensure good health?
Are you drinking the right stuff?
Breathing for Posture.
Good posture
is a fundamental requirement for good
health. Poor posture results in muscle
tension. Muscles under tension have reduced
blood flow and can not be properly
nourished. This chain of events will
eventually lead to seemingly unrelated
health issues such as headaches, pain in
other parts of the body and dis-ease. A person with
poor posture is usually the result of
several variables gone awry… not just one.
Poor eyesight, stress, depression, muscle
imbalances, repetitive movements and soft
tissue injuries could all contribute to the
situation.
Metabolic Typing.
Our bodies require fuel to sustain life, and
the old adage still holds true, "You are
what you eat.". What do you think
the body uses to make new cells, tissues,
glands, organs, bones, muscles and skin? Finding
out what foods work best for your body is
simply a matter of understanding what your
body is telling you.
Simplified Fitness
for Golfers.
Professional golfers
have recently tuned in to Pilates as a way to improve their game, Tiger
Woods being one of the first to publicly recognize its benefits. Most pros
hire personal trainers and take advantage of the fitness trailers that
accompany the PGA these days, making every effort to incorporate fitness
into their game. Amateurs may not have the luxury of such tools at their
disposal. What is needed is a simple set of exercises golfers can perform
anytime, anywhere in order to improve their game and overall fitness.
A Wood Fire is Better Than a Fat Fire.
How do you get your metabolism to burn hot to burn fat?
Breath Your Way to
Health.
For many of our clients, basic breathing
patterns are one of our first points of
interest. We have found that most people
are "chest breathers" and do not know how to
breath diagphramatically. What does this
mean? As chest breathers they are using the
accessory respirator muscles (scalenes aka
strap muscles, sternocleidomastoid, and
intercostals) instead of their primary
respiratory muscles (the diaphragm).
Anytime secondary muscles are used in the
absence of the prime mover pain and
discomfort will follow. In this article Paul
describes a simple technique to help you
learn to breath like Mother Nature
engineered us to breath.
The Essence of Peppermint.
Essential oils have been used for thousands
of years by health care practitioners to
naturally treat ailments of the mind, body
and soul. Massage therapists use essential
oils in the craft all of the time. It turns
out that anyone can use essential oils in
a variety of ways. This month Jill introduces the application of the peppermint
essential oil and how it can be used to
improve your overall health and vitality.
Holiday Gift Ideas.
The
Christmas Season is often a test of creativity to come
up with the perfect gift for your family, friends and
colleagues. Why not contribute to the health and
wellness of your recipients by giving them gifts that
encourage them to get in shape?
Add Zest to Your Holidays with
Pine EO. The
Holiday Season is here and along with it are the age old
scents of the season including the ham in the oven,
freshly baked pies, fresh fruits, and the Christmas tree
itself. If you don't have a "real" Christmas tree you
are missing out on one of the real treats of the
season: The scent of the pine tree itself.
This
month we'll be introducing an essential oil (EO) that's
perfect for the season: PINE. If you don't have a real
tree in the house, the use of pine oil might be just the
ticket to bring your childhood Christmas scents back.
Solutions for Your Resolutions.
The first of the year marks the end of the Holiday
indulgences and for many, the start of a new beginning.
"New beginnings" often include a recommitment to get
back to some sort of fitness program. By March, 50
percent of the January rush will be back into their old,
sedentary ways. By June that number shoots to 90
percent.
Here are some tips to help you avoid being a fitness
statistic.
5 Steps to Building a Repeatable Golf Swing.
Ben
Hogan states in his classic book Five Lessons: The
Modern Fundamentals of Golf , "The average golfer is
entirely capable of building and repeating a swing
breaking 80 IF he learns to perform a small number of
correct movement". When you're out on the course how may
average golfers do you see breaking 80? The
basic problem with building a repeatable swing is that
although there are relatively few movements required to
drive a golf ball, all of the movements must be timed
and executed perfectly. Otherwise the end result will
be bad news. Conversely, only those movements that are
necessary need to be included; unnecessary movements
need to be excluded. Modern
players have demonstrated that golf is a sport. Only
professional athletes will compete at the highest levels
for an extended period of time. Like any other sport,
golf athletes require a disciplined approach to fitness
and nutrition to get to and stay at the top of their
sport.
Silence: For
Those Who Snore.
Are
you kept awake at night by the house-shaking snores of
your partner? Do you wake up exhausted or tired? Are
there dark circles under your eyes? Do you have
difficulty concentrating or is your memory sketchy? Do
you know just how important a good night of sleep is for
your physical, emotional and mental well being? Even
if snoring doesn't wake you, it disrupts the natural
flow of energy that provides a healthy, beneficial and
restful night of sleep.
Napping is Good For Your Vitality. Would you ever think that
Thomas Edison, Napoleon Bonaparte, Salvador Dali, Winston Churchill, and
Presidents Kennedy and Reagan had something in common? In fact, each of them
enjoyed a regular nap. Many people find that a 20-30 minute nap is
restorative, especially during the normal afternoon circadian ‘dip’ that usually
occurs between 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. Napping can help maintain or even increase
alertness and performance, sharpen memory and reduce symptoms of fatigue,
especially during long periods of being awake. However, napping, in general, is
no substitute for a good night’s sleep, says the National Sleep Foundation
(NSF).
Train the Brain.
Our bodies are wonderful
machines. They have the capacity to
silently fight off disease, overcome
physical handicaps, and propel us across
land and through water. Of all the parts
of our bodies, the most mysterious and
powerful is, hands down, our brains. Our brains are more responsible for our
fitness abilities than it is given
credit for. Working on your
neurological development will reap
plenty of rewards.
Train your brain to get results!
The X-factor: The Key to
Long Drives.
The X-Factor was
identified in 1997 by Jim McClean's book
The X-Factor Swing. The X-factor is
defined as the difference in rotation
between the pelvis and shoulders. The
greater in angle the more torque is
produced in the backswing resulting in
greater club head speed and greater ball
distance.
If you increase your X-factor you will
increase your distance. Here are a
couple of stretches you can use to
increase your trunk flexibility to gain
distance off the tee.
Increase your distance through and
increased X-Factor.
Lavender: The Duct Tape of
Essential Oils. Is there anyone who is not
familiar with duct tape and its
incredible versatility? Duct tape is a
very simple, unique, universal tool-most
famous for its ability to be used in
many situations. Lavender oil is to
aromatherapy what duct tape is to
McGiver.
Tips to Improve Your Child's
Sleep.
Some 13
percent of children aged 6 to 11 and 14 percent of adolescents aged 12
to 19 are overweight. The ever-increasing waistlines put children at
risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. But
there is another problem, often overlooked, accompanying the grim
statistics from the U.S. Surgeon General's office. Those extra pounds
also put children at risk for sleep apnea, a serious, debilitating, and
potentially life-threatening sleep disorder, according to the National
Sleep Foundation (NSF).
Abdominal Training: 7
Questions Answered.
Abdominal and gluteal (buttocks)
training are without a doubt the most
popular and controversial training
topics in the fitness industry.
Everyone wants them and they want them
now. With every controversial topic
there are facts and fiction. Here are
seven abdominal questions that were
raised at the recent American Fitness
Professionals & Associates conference on
Hilton Head this month.
If you want rock abdominals, you at
least need to know the basics.
Assess Your Golf Fitness for a
Longer Drive.
Time is
our nemesis. Golfers want to play the
game. Not exercise for exercise's
sake. They want to hit the ball
further, first and foremost, and would
like to do it with accuracy and
consistency. And they want to do it
without pain or injury. The only way
this can be achieved is through proper
swing instruction, good biomechanics,
and a keen mental focus.
Three steps towards a longer drive. Only
one of them works...
Tree Tree Essential Oil. Australians call tea tree (Malaleuca
alternifolia) essential oil a "first-aid
kit in a bottle." Their claims may
sound far-fetched, but they are not.
Learn more about this versatile oil.
Five Benefits of Proper Sleep.
Receiving regular sleep
in crucial for achieving optimal health,
both physically and mentally. Numerous
studies support the idea of receiving at
least 6-8 hours sleep every night. If
you're not meeting your sleep
requirements your peak performance will
be compromised. Learn how
sleep can help your performance.
Boomeritis: Victims of Our Own
Provocative Obsessions.
A recent article in the New York Times
titled
Baby Boomers Stay Active, and So Do
Their Doctors essentially
describes me and the majority of my
clients. If you were born between 1946
and 1964 this article is probably all
about you too. It highlights the
correlation between the boomer's desire
to maintain their youthful fitness and
the resulting need for orthopedic
medical services.
Is your sport or exercise program
putting your health at risk?
It's a Stretch... Golf's
Pre-game Routine.
Every
sport has it. A pre-event routine. The
pre-event routine is supposed to prepare
the athlete for the ensuing sporting
event. To functionally loosen him up
for the impending, physically demanding
tasks ahead. Does your golf pre-game
routine prepare you for 18 holes of
golf? Or does it drain you of energy
before stepping onto the first tee?
Do you even have a pre-game routine?
Sea Salt Baths for Health and
Vitality.
What's as old as life
itself, has been used by royalties for
centuries, is good for your skin,
vitality, circulation and metabolism?
And it's fun to use too!
Life is an Adventure.
One of our newest
clients is preparing for a real-life adventure. He's training to
complete a 3 day ascent up 14,000 feet of glacier capped, volcanic
mountainside: Mount Rainier in Washington State. Assuming he makes it up the mountain carrying a 40 pound pack, then
he'll need to concern him self with safely getting back down the
mountain. Where is your summit?
Four Steps to Eating Well.
Have you ever
struggled with your eating habits but not have any idea how to start?
Or how to improve on what you're currently doing. Follow these four
steps and you're on your way to eating your way to the your optimal
health and vitality.
Manage Pain Naturally.
Exercise
stresses the muscle, tendons and bones. One of the byproducts of
exercise is a residual pain called the DOMS - Delayed Onset of Muscle
Soreness. This month Jill tells us how we can reduce the DOMS naturally
through aromatherapy.
Rebounding: Cardio Without the Shin
Splints.
What weighs 32 pounds, is 40
inches wide, 12 inches tall, costs about $200, can be
loaded into the back of any mid-sized car, and takes the
place of a treadmill, elliptical or any other cardio
equipment? The answer is a "rebounder".
Protecting the Rotator Cuff.
One of the most common injuries to active adults is pain and dysfunction
in the shoulder joint. Find out how to avoid shoulder injuries in
the first place by avoiding bad exercise practices and using good
stretching and strengthening techniques to create balanced strength in
the shoulder region.
5 Steps Towards Improving Your
Posture. Question:
What does posture have in common with flexibility? Answer:
If you "have it" you think everyone has it. If you "don't have it"
you think you'll never be able to achieve it.
Understanding Your Fitness ROI. After years of double digit
healthcare cost increases and single digit inflation and cost of living
increases, the burden of healthcare costs is simply too much for the
majority of the working families in this country. Those of us who are
relying on our employers to handle the increases every year are getting
short changed on our bonuses and salary increases. Those of us who are
waiting for the government to bail us out are living a life of denial.
At what point does the
collective we take a position and announce “We are not going to take it
anymore!”? What should you be doing to get off the healthcare escalator
before running out of track?
Where's the beef... been?
Two recent stories on the same day in the Charlotte Observer, November
4, 2007, should prompt readers to ask the question “Where has the
beef been?” These two stories, seemingly unrelated Latest
recall: 1 million pounds of beef and Diner, beware: Tales of a
health inspector, are in fact, tightly connected. Find out
why...
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